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It's a tragic but easy-to-ignore fact: Millions of animals around the world suffer through cramped, painful, and altogether miserable conditions on factory farms.

Gene Baur founded Farm Sanctuary as an antidote to such conditions. The organization is dedicated to raising awareness of industrial farm conditions and working to influence animal-rights laws. But it also helps abused farm animals in a very literal sense: Farm Sanctuary's shelters provide a refuge for mistreated animals to live out their lives in comfort and dignity.

"At Farm Sanctuary, the animals are our friends -- not our food," Gene says. The surroundings bring to life what we think of when we picture traditional farms: pastures full of animals free to roam as they please, clean barns, and healthy food.

Many of the 1,000 animals at Farm Sanctuary's New York and California shelters were found discarded, had escaped from the slaughterhouse, or were homeless after natural disasters. The farm offers these mistreated animals a second chance at a meaningful life.